STOCK & GRAZING NOTES?

Otago Witness, Issue 2103, 14 June 1894, Page 7

STOCK & GRAZING NOTES?

By Dkoveb.

Monthly : Clinton, Palinerston, and Winton. Periodically : Heriot, Kelso, and Kyebura.

[Communications of interest te stockbreeders and dealers are oordl&llj- invited. All jomrauntcatlons to reach 'Witness offloo not later than Monday night,] Judging from the market for fat cattle last week at Burnside it is clear, I think, that prime beef is not by any means too plentiful. Out of 110 head yarded about 30 might be classed as really fat, and there was for these very keen competition, prices ranging from £1 to £1 10 a over previous week's rates. For medium cattle there was no advance on last week, but most of them went off owing to the small yarding of prime beef being a good deal short of the quantity required by the trade. For some time to' come there will, it appears to me, be a good demand at increasing prices for really prime beef. Store cattle are not in great demand at present, farmers not being inclined to buy except at what might be termed bargain prices. Good dairy cows and heifers are always saleable at fair prices, and I should say that prices

Weekly Stock Sales : Burnside, Wednesdays Invercrrgill, Tuesdays Ashburton, Tuesdays Addington, Wednead'ys Fortnightly : Balclutha, Fridays Gore, Tuesdays.

There was a splendid show of horses of both draught and light kinds at the sales in Danedin on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but, as might be expected, prices ruled low, and even at low prices the sales were not at all brisk. The low price of grain is not very encouraging for ploughing and cropping, and the absence of auy large public works in road and railway making doubtless is the cause of the slackness of demand. There were a lot of splendid horses, and I was surprised that there was not more speculation, as the attendance, owiDg to the influx of visitors to the show, was very good. Some splendid light horses were offered, but for these there was libtle or no good demand. What a pity that Melbourne has " boomed and bust," for many of these horses would have gone there at profitable rates a year or two ago. May they boom again soon and not "bust."

I notice that the Union Steam Ship Company's s.s. Rotokino is to leave Lytteltou on the 2 1st inst. for New South Wales with sheep for the forthcoming sheep fair in Sydney. Seeing the good market for New Zealand-bred heavy sheep in Australia, I hope to hear that some of our local breeders are among the shippers. It will be a pity if only Canterbury and North Island breeders are represented, as it is a great matter to establish markets for this clasß of stock, of which there must be some splendid samples in the hands of Otago and Southland breeders. At any rate they were not wont in previous intercolonial shows to take a back seat in these lines. It seems to me that Can* terbury men are just a libtle more energetic than we are in this and many other matters. I shall be glad to see that, in this instance, I am wrong, and that many of the Otago and Southland breeders are shipping by the Rotokino, and keeping their names as breeders of high" class, heavy sheep well to the front.

I had a conversation with one of the members of the Agricultural Conference at Wellington, and got a good account of the meetings, at which I should say a lob of good and useful work was done. Of the 36 subjects discussed there many were of only lecal interest, and of those that affected tho country generally I hink the ones dealing w ith the dairy industry